Our old Troopy, Diesel, V8

'Love at first sight', me and my troopy

I drive a small Toyota sedan these days, bun still miss the troops when I want to pick of a large piece of furniture of a substantial amount of garden supplies.  We did a great deal in a trade when we finally stopped touring Australia, nowing a caravan, and settled down to a short trips only lifestyle. 

Today, eight years on, I'm sharing once more the post I wrote about our Troopy.

This post dated 1st November 2010

I am home from a few short overnight trips and preparing our Toyota Land Cruiser, 4WD turbo diesel, workmate troop carrier, hence forth to be known as ‘troopy,' for the long tour.
Troopy is due for her 40,000-kilometer service, and she is well overdue for a bit of an interior clean up. It is going to be 42 degrees here today in Northern Victoria, so that is not going to happen today.

These troopys, are considered, virtually indestructible, so they use them in the mines in Western Australia, they will go where few other 4WD’s can go and endure some tough conditions.  

Reg and I were concerned that with retirement we would not be in a position to keep on replacing cars every so many years. The economy was uncertain and we were not confident leaving money in financial investments preferring to invest in our lifestyle needs and know we were set up for our future to live the life we wanted. We feel our troopy is a part of a long-term investment, the reputation they have is that they will go on for years and distance.

Having once been in a position of being stranded in outback Central Queensland for weeks, waiting for a part to be brought 600 kilometers for a Holden Commodore, I wanted to own and drive ‘the car of the outback.' The ‘troopy,' so that any outback mechanic would be used to fixing and have parts for my car. No more ‘being stuck up Whoop-Whoop creek without a paddle.’

Maintaining a troopy can be a little more costly at service time, they are one of the more expensive vehicles to service; the saving is more that little goes wrong with them. To get the best from your troopy it is best to change the engine oil every 5,000 kilometers or half way between the due date of the next car service. That is a good idea for all diesel vehicles.

Now I will be honest; I do not understand any of the engine talk. I just like to drive ‘the thing’ andJ, my gray nomad man, well he just LOVES the economy we get, I choose to tow our Eco-tourer caravan at between 80 to 90 kilometers an hour. Without the van in tow, I drive at 100 on freeways get great economy. The advantage of the duel fuel tanks means an enormous saving in fuel cost, safety and peace of mind on a long trip. No carrying jerry cans of flammable fuel in the car, no having to fill up where the price has been highly inflated if you can make the distance between one large town in the outback and the next. The savings in fuel cost traveling around Australia was huge.   Reg and I LOVE our troopy. 

The following information is straight out of the Toyota book for those who like to know the ‘specs.'

4x4 Turbo Diesel Cab Chassis, Troop Carrier and the serious looking, working four door Wagon. Under the bonnet you'll find Toyota's first ever intercooled, turbo diesel V8 delivering a massive 430Nm of earth-shaking torque for serious towing grunt 

LandCruiser has more tow, thanks to a quad cam, turbocharged and intercooled 4.5 litre Diesel V8 fitted as standard to every model in the range. A variable nozzle vane turbocharger ensures boost pressure continually adjusts in accordance with engine speed and other critical factors. So you have 151KW of power which is over 20% more than the previous class-leading LandCruiser 6-cylinder Turbo Diesel. As for torque, a huge 430Nm of grunt is available all the way from 1200–3200 rpm. 

For the first time in a Toyota engine, this V8 boasts an oil-scavenging pump working in conjunction with the primary oil pump, for better lubrication. The crankshaft is engineered from special high strength carbon steel for greater durability yet lightweight, with balance weights added to reduce vibration. Even the pistons are made of aluminium alloy for lighter weight and reduced friction, which improves engine efficiency. 

LandCruiser puts advanced technologies to work, delivering more power from less fuel, returning 11.9L/100Km for Troop Carrier & Wagon and an impressive 11.5L/100Km for Cab Chassis models*. Direct injection improves fuel efficiency, roller rockers with needle bearings reduce internal friction, while water-cooled Exhaust Gas Recycling (EGR) helps reburn some of the exhaust gasses. Little wonder this advanced V8 meets the strict Euro IV emissions standards, so LandCruiser will be as kind to the environment as it is to your hip pocket.  

I have to dispute that last part, I have found that the services have proved to be expensive for this vehicle.

---